Indian-origin jailed for life for killing mother

Singapore, Sept 16: A 34-year-old Indian-origin man has been sentenced to life in Singapore for killing his mother three years ago by slitting her throat and stabbing in the neck.

Sujay Solomon Sutherson, with a history of paranoid schizophrenia, was put behind bars for the protection of the public yesterday.

No caning was warranted in view of his mental condition, Judicial Commissioner Hoo Sheau Peng said.

Sujay was convicted last month of culpable homicide. He said the he had knifed his mother, Mallika Jesudesan, 56, in self-defence after she had grabbed his hair, scratched him and tried to take off his clothes at their apartment on May 27, 2012.

Even yesterday, while pleading for a lenient sentence, Sujay maintained that his mother, whom he referred to as "the victim", wanted to have a physical relationship with him, and had told him that she was a woman who had "needs" news agency reported.

Defending himself in the court eloquently, Sujay objected to sentencing submissions by Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Kumaresan Gohulabalan as having "no relevance" to the case, the report said.

Sujay said there was premeditation in the precedent cases cited by the DPP, but in his case, "everything happened very fast".

Gohulabalan had argued for a life sentence, pointing to the brutal and grisly manner in which Sujay had killed his own mother, and his cunning efforts to hide his deed from his family members.

After his attempt to burn the dead woman, he hid her under his bed and cleaned up the apartment. Sujay was a danger to society as he was unpredictable, lacked insight into his mental illness, and was an intelligent individual who was able to disguise his symptoms, said Gohulabalan.